Questions from a Credit Card Newbie

LChael Sonnen on 14/06/2016 - 19:24

Hi All,

I'm planning to apply for my first credit card with ANZ (ANZ Rewards Platinum - not the Frequent Flyer one) to take advantage of the $2,500 spend for 50,000 points bonus.

I have never had a credit card before as I have never felt a need for it, but given that I expect to pay off the credit card payments as soon as I use it, I don't see any harm as I don't expect to delay payments past the interest free period.

As I'm quite uneducated, I tried googling a lot of questions I had but was not getting consistent answers so was wondering if you guys could give me a hand.

Questions I have are:

  1. What is a minimum credit limit and why does it matter?
  2. What type of transactions are eligible to redeem points? For example, if I linked the credit card to Paypal and started shopping on eBay, would I be able to get points from that? The ANZ website is a bit confusing for me.
  3. What are the best exchanges for the reward points? (e.g. gift cards, etc)

Thank you in advance!

Financial

Comments

  • rldowling03 on 14/06/2016 - 20:09
    +1

    I got the same card but got the frequent flyer one so can give you a couple of responses.

    1. Minimum credit limit is the minimum amount of credit they'll give you. So if it's $5,000 minimum then the least amount of credit you can get on the card is $5,000, but can be more, your choice really on the limit as long as it's above their minimum.

    2. Most things are eligible for points, just not cash advances which includes ATM withdrawals as well as most (not all) BPay payments, depending on how the biller has set up their system it may come up as a purchase or a cash advance. I use my AMEX linked to my PayPal and I get all the benefits of it with extra points and they count just fine, go through as a purchase so no issues there.

    • Chael Sonnen on 14/06/2016 - 20:43

      Hi Ryan,

      Thanks for the quick reply!

      In regards to the PayPal linkage, I've read on the Whirlpool forums that banks may charge an 'overseas transaction fee' when paying with a linked credit card. Have you had any experience with this?

      I used PayPal regularly with my debit card but have never experienced this fee before but just unsure whether this applies to credit cards.

      • ninjawarrior on 15/06/2016 - 05:06
        +1

        The "overseas transaction fee" is to do with the currency of your transaction. If you are buying something in a currency other than AUD (whether on PayPal or just in general), your bank will charge you the fee - usually around 3%.

        It isn't a PayPal fee, but keep in mind when making foreign purchases PayPal will offer you a terrible rate when exchanging your purchase back to AUD

        You can get around this by grabbing one of the many foreign transaction fee-free cards mentioned in the forums - the standards are Bankwest Platinum and 28 Degrees for credit, and Citibank Plus for debit.

        • Chael Sonnen on 15/06/2016 - 18:52

          Thanks for the info! Much appreciated.

  • phaol7ta on 14/06/2016 - 20:29
    +1
    1. platinum credit card minimum limit is $6000. it is matter as if in the future you need mortgage from the bank.
    2. yes you can link your cc with paypal and use it from there.
    3. WELCOME my friend

    cheers

  • Dacs on 15/06/2016 - 09:35
    +1

    1. Minimum for that card is $6,000. If you pay off on the due date it only becomes relevant if you want to spend more than the limit within a two month period. For example… If your due date for payment is the last day of each month. In July you buy appliances for $3,000. You will only need to make payment on your card at the end of August. But during August you buy furniture for $2,000 and groceries for $1,500. Now the total debt sitting on your card is $3k + $2k + 1.5k = $6.5k, ie you've gone over your limit and your card will probably be blocked.

    2. Yes. However be aware that "foreign" transactions, even if charged in AUD, attract a 3% charge on that card. It even happens with some local merchants. Search Ozbargain for discussions on this (there's a long thread on the Citibank cards which have the same issue)*

    3. It depends what things are worth to YOU. Eg if you could use the points to get an upgrade from economy to business class on a flight from Sydney to Melbourne, would you choose that or would you rather use the points to get a $200 Woolworths gift voucher instead? It is generally bad value to use the points to buy goods in the rewards store (gadgets, wine, etc).

    *Edit - Here's a list

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